Foundation to carry forward Dolly's lifelong mission of inspiring children, families and communities through generosity, opportunity and love
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dollywood Foundation today joins millions of people around the world in mourning the passing of its beloved founder, Dolly Parton, and celebrating an extraordinary life defined not only by the music and joy she shared with the world, but by her deeply held belief in giving back.
Dolly was many things to millions of people - entertainer, songwriter, businesswoman, philanthropist, friend and inspiration. To those fortunate enough to know and work alongside her, she was also simply Dolly: warm, funny, thoughtful, generous and always deeply grounded in where she came from and the people she loved.
"Dolly often said that she had been blessed far beyond anything she ever dreamed possible, and she believed deeply that those blessings came with a responsibility to give something back," said Jeff Conyers, President of The Dollywood Foundation. "That belief is woven into everything we do at The Dollywood Foundation. While we are heartbroken by her loss, the mission she gave us is as clear today as it has ever been, and we will carry it forward for generations to come."
Perhaps nowhere is that commitment more evident than in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Inspired by her father and his inability to read and write, Dolly launched the Imagination Library in 1995 with a simple but powerful idea: give young children in her home county books of their very own and inspire them to dream more, learn more, care more and be more.
What began in the mountains of East Tennessee grew far beyond anything Dolly could have imagined. Today, the Imagination Library reaches millions of children and families, delivering specially selected, age-appropriate books directly to children's homes at no cost to their families and creating opportunities for parents and children to experience the joy of reading together.
The Dollywood Foundation has prepared carefully for the future and remains honored to carry the mission Dolly entrusted to it. The Foundation is strong, its mission is clear, and the values Dolly instilled in the organization will continue to guide its work and growth in the years ahead.
"Dolly's legacy was never meant to be something we simply preserve or look back upon," Conyers said. "She built things that could keep doing good in the world. Our responsibility now is to care for what she entrusted to us, help it grow thoughtfully and make certain the love at the heart of her work continues reaching children, families and communities long into the future."
Dolly's remarkable legacy will live on in countless ways - through the songs she wrote, the stories she told, the businesses she built and the joy she brought to generations of people around the world. But an important part of that legacy will also continue quietly, every day, in homes and communities around the world: when a child opens a book addressed especially to them; when a parent and child read a favorite story together; and when a young person begins to imagine a future bigger than the circumstances into which they were born.
The Foundation believes one of the greatest ways to honor Dolly is not simply to remember what she accomplished, but to continue the work she loved - carrying it forward with the same generosity, humility, joy and love with which she began it.
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